rince

God
HUMBLE THEMSELVES BEFORE
REQUIRES His
i
pEopU to
HIM,
ANd hAS REVEAlEd A siivipU, practIcaI

wAy TO AccoivipUsh This.

^ T-Tl
•^^
^.
J
\
/ / s<_
/
jf

/ /
•^^B1^^

/ / / /
/ / /
^ ;_. _/ y / / A - .
jf
 (Derel Pri
rince

^9fA^!a/iet,9(fiia^
Scripture quotations marked (nas) are from the New American
Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977
by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (niv) are from the Holy Bible, New
International Version, © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International
Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (kjv) are taken from the King

James Version of the Bible.

FASTING

Derek Prince
Derek Prince Ministries - International
P. O. Box 19501 4
Charlotte, NC 28219 i

ISBN: 0-88368-258-3
Printed in the United States of America
Copyright © 1986 by Derek Prince Ministries International
Whitaker House
30 Hunt Valley Circle
New Kensington, PA 15068

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.

9 10 11 12 13 14/06 05 04 03 02 01 00
 Contents

1. The Primary Purpose of Fasting ... 5

2. New Testament Examples

of Fasting 15

3. How Fasting Changes Us 27

4. Fasting Can Change History 37

5. Prelude to the Latter Rain 49

 Chapter One

The Primary Purpose

of Fasting

jIm, lost key to successful Christian living

that is found throughout the Bible has
been set aside and misplaced by the church
of today. That key is fasting.

Fasting, as I would define it, is ''volun-

tarily abstaining from food for spiritual
purposes.'' Sometimes people fast not only
from food, but also from water; however,
that is the exception rather than the rule.
Fasting from food only is exemplified in the
Jesus in the wilderness before He
fast of
began His public ministry. Matthew 4:2
says this:
 Fasting

^And after He had fasted forty days and

forty nights. He then became hungry.
(Matthew 4:2 NAS)

Clearly Jesus did not abstain from

water for those forty days because anyone
who has fasted from water will become
thirsty before they become hungry. So the
fact that the Scripture does not say, ''He
became thirsty/ but just states, ""He then
became hungry,*" indicates that Jesus ab-
stained from food but not from water.

Fasting seems unfamiliar and even

frightening to many people, yet this atti-
tude is strange. Fasting was regularly
practiced by God's people throughout the
Bible. Fasting is also an accepted part of
most other major world religions, such as
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.

Fasting for Self-Humbling

Primarily, the purpose of fasting is self-

humbling. It is a scriptural means ordained
 The Primary Purpose of Fasting

by God for us to humble ourselves before

Him. Throughout the Bible God requires
His people to humble themselves before
Him. Many different passages of Scripture
emphasize this. Here are four from the
New Testament:
^''Therefore, whoever humbles himself like
this child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven." (Matthew 18:4 NIV)

^^"For whoever exalts himself will behum-

bled, and whoever humbles himself will be
'
exalted. (Matthew 23:12 NIv)

^^Humble yourselves before the Lord, and

he will lift you up. (James 4:10 NIV)

^Humble yourselves, under God's

therefore,
mighty hand, that he may lift you up in
due time. (1 Peter 5:6 NIV)

One important feature of all these

Scriptures is that the responsibility to
humble ourselves is placed upon us.
We cannot transfer that responsibility to
God. To pray, ''God, make me humble,** is
 Fasting

unscriptural, because the reply of God in

Scripture is always, ""Humble yourself."

In the Bible God has revealed to us a

specific, practical way to humble ourselves.
David reveals that fasting was the way
that he employed to humble his soul, or to
humble himself:

^^*7 humbled my soul with fasting..."

(Psalm 35:13 NAS)

Consider some historical examples

where God's people humbled themselves in
this way. First, we read in the book of Ezra
about how Ezra is preparing to lead a band
of returning Jewish exiles from Babylon
back to Jerusalem. They have before them
a long, arduous journey through country
infested by brigands and occupied by their
enemies. They are taking with them their
wives and children and the sacred vessels
of the temple. They are in desperate need
of safe conduct. Ezra had two alternatives:
he could appeal to the emperor of Persia

8
 The Primary Purpose of Fasting

for a band of soldiers and horsemen, or he

could trust in God. He chose to trust in
God and this is what he says:

^^There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed

a fast, we might humble ourselves
so that
before our God and ask him for a safe
journey for us and our children, with all
our possessions.
^^Iwas ashamed to ask the king for sol-
diers and horsemen to protect us from
enemies on the road, because we had told
the king 'The good hand of our God is on
everyone who looks to him, but his great
anger is who forsake him."
against all
^^So we fasted and petitioned our God
about this, and he answered our prayer.
(Ezra 8:21-23 NIV)

Ezra had two alternatives: one carnal,

the other spiritual. He could have resorted
to the carnal and asked for a band of sol-
diers and horsemen. It would not have
been sinful, but it would have been on a
lower level of faith. But he chose the spiri-
tual alternative. He chose to look to God by
invoking God s supernatural help and

9
 Fasting

protection. Ezra and the Israelites with

him knew exactly how was
to do this. It
something they already understood. They
fasted and humbled their souls before Grod.
They petitioned Grod, and God heard them
and granted them the safe journey for
which they asked.

In 2 Chronicles we read the record of

an incident in the history of Judah when
Jehoshaphat was king:

^Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A

vast army is coming agq^inst you from
Edam... It is already in Hazazon Tamar'
(that is. En Gedi).
^Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire
of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for
all Judah.
^The people of Judah came together to seek
help from the LORD; indeed, they came
from every town in Judah to seek him.
(2 Chronicles 20:2-4 NIV)

Then Jehoshaphat prayed a prayer

invoking God's help. In the last verse of

10
 The Primary Purpose of Fasting

that prayer, which is very significant,

Jehoshaphat concludes by saying:

^^•"O our God, will you not judge them? For

we have no power to face this vast army
that is attacking us. We do not know what
to do, but our eyes are upon you."
(2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV)

Here are the key phrases: ""...we have

no power. ..we do not know what to do. ^ So . .

they had to turn to God for supernatural

help and they knew the way to turn. They
renounced the natural to invoke the super-
natural.

For another clear example of the prac-

tice of fasting in the Old Testament, we
turn to the ordinances for the Day of
Atonement, what the Jewish people call
Yom Kippur:

^^"And this shall be a permanent statute

for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth
day of the month, you shall humble your
souls, and not do any work, whether the

11
 Fasting

native, or the alien who sojourns among

you;
[Now, where this translation says, ^ou
shall humble your souls, ' another transla-
tion says, 'you must deny yourselves,'' and,
alternatively, ^ou must fast." Then the
passage continues:]
on this day that atonement shall
^^"for it is
be made for you to cleanse you; you shall
be clean from all your sins before the
Lord.
^^It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for
you, that you may humble your souls; it is

a permanent statute.''
(Leviticus 16:29-31 NAS)

We know, historically, that for 3,500

years the Jewish people have always ob-
served Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement,
as a day of fasting. We also have the New
Testament authority for this. A passage in
Acts that describes Pauls journey to Rome
by sea says:

^Much time had been lost, and sailing had

already become dangerous because by now
it was after the Fast. (Acts 27:9 NIV)

12
 The Primary Purpose of Fasting

""The Fast" mentioned here is the Day

of Atonement, which always fell at the end
of September or the beginning of October,
just when winter was setting in. We see
from the New Testament that the Day of
Atonement was always celebrated as ""the
Fasf God required His people to humble
their souls before Him by collective fasting.
That was the appointment, the ordinance,
for the Day of Atonement, the most sacred
day of the Jewish calendar.

Notice two facts: First, in this case,

fasting was man's response to God's provi-
sion of forgiveness and cleansing. God
provided the ceremony by which the High
Priest went into the innermost sanctuary of
the temple and made atonement. Second,
that atonement was only effective for
those people who accepted it through
fasting.

In other words, God did His part, but

man had to do his. This is true in many
transactions with God. God does His part.

13
 Fasting

but He expects a response from us. Many

times the response that God expects from
us is to fast.

God absolutely required fasting of all

His people under the old covenant. Anyone
who did not fast on the Day of Atonement
was to be cut off and was no longer to be a
member of God's people. So we see that
God attached great importance to fasting
as the appointed way for His people to
humble themselves before Him and so to
qualify for the blessing that He wanted to
provide.

14
 Chapter Two

New Testament
Examples of Fasting

w. e have seen that fasting is a lost key,

one that is found all through the pages of
the Bible. Yet is has been set aside and
misplaced by the Christian church.

The primary purpose for fasting, as

revealed in the Bible, is self-humbling.
Fasting is a scriptural way to humble
ourselves. All through the Bible God re-
quired His people to humble themselves
before Him. God has revealed that a sim-
ple, practical way to humble ourselves is
through fasting.

15
 Fasting

We have looked at some historical

examples from the Old Testament already:
examples of David in Psalms; Ezra and the
exiles returning from Babylon; Jehosha-
phat and the people of Judah; and the Day
of Atonement, when every believing Jew
was required to practice fasting.

I believe the essential nature of fasting

is renouncing the natural to invoke the
supernatural. The most natural thing for
us to do is to eat. When we give up eating,
we are deliberately turning away from the
natural by turning to God and to the super-
natural. This has a deep significance.

Fcisting in the Life of Jesus

Fasting was also part of the life and

ministry of Jesus and of the New Testa-
ment church. First of all, the Lord Jesus
Himself practiced fasting, as reported in
the Gospels:

16
 New Testament Examples

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned

^

from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit

in the desert,
^where for forty days he was tempted by
the devil. He ate nothing during those days
and at the end of them he was hungry.
(Luke 4:1-2 NIV)

As explained previously, the words

I

indicate that Jesus abstained from food,

but probably drank water.

Before Jesus entered His public minis-

try, there were two critical experiences
through which He passed. The first was
when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him,
and He was endued with the supernatural
power of the Holy Spirit for His ministry.
But, Jesus still did not immediately go out
and begin to minister.

The second experience was forty days

of fasting in the desert. He abstained from
food and focused on the spiritual. Appar-
ently, during in that time. He had a direct,
person-to-person conflict with Satan.

17
 Fasting

Through His fasting. He emerged victorious

from that first conflict with Satan.

This illustration would seem to indicate

that fasting is essential in our lives if we
are to be victorious over Satan. If Jesus
had to practice fasting for victory, I do not
see how any of us can claim to achieve
victory without the same practice.

Notice the result of fasting in the life of

Jesus. Luke 4:14 states:

Jesus returned
^^ to Galilee in the power of
the Spirit,^ and news about him spread
through the whole countryside. (NIV)

There is a very significant difference in

the two phrases used. When Jesus went
into the desert, the Gospel says He was
TuZZ of the Holy Spirit But when He
returned from the desert after forty days of
fasting it says He went ""in the power of the
Spirit.'' In other words, it is one thing to be
full of the Spirit, it is another thing to be

18
 New Testament Examples

in the power From the time

of the Spirit.
of His baptism onwards, the Spirit was
there. But it was His fasting that released
the power of the Holy Spirit to flow
through His life and ministry without
hindrance. Again, I believe this is a pattern
for us.

Jesus Himself said later in John 14:12:

^^"Truly, truly,I say to you, he who

believes inMe, the works that I do shall he
do also; and greater works than these shall
he do; because I go to the Father.' (NAS)

I want to point out that the works

Jesus did began with fasting. If we want to
[
follow in the other works He did, it seems
logical to me that we must begin where

I
—
Jesus began ^with fasting.

Jesus also taught His disciples to fast.

I In the Sermon on the Mount, He said to
I His disciples:

19
 Fasting

^^"But when you fast, put oil on your head

and wash your face,
^^so that it will not be obvious to men that
you are fasting, but only to your Father,
who is unseen; and your Father, who sees
what is done reward you."
in secret, will
(Matthew 6:1 7-18 NIV)

Jesus promises a reward to those who

practice fasting in the right way and for
the right motives. Notice one very impor-
tant little word. Jesus said, ""when you
fast,'' He did not say, ""if you fast.** Had He
said ''if,'' He would have left open the
possibility that they might not practice
fasting. But when He said, ""when you
fast,'' He obviously assumed that they
would practice fasting.

The theme of the sixth chapter of

Matthew is three main Christian duties:
giving to the poor, praying, and fasting. In
connection with all three of them, Jesus
uses the same word ""when, ** He never says
if.*' In verse 2 He says: ''when you give to
«.

the needy..." And in verse 17 He says.

20
 New Testament Examples

""when you fast...'' He never left open the

option that they would not do these three
things. He put giving, praying, and fasting
on precisely the same level.

Most Christians would accept without

much question that it is our obligation to
give and to pray. But on that same basis, it
is equally our obligation to fast.

Fasting in the Early Church

Not only was fasting practiced by

Jesus, it was practiced by the New Testa-
ment church. In Acts 13:1-4, we read about
the church at Antioch:

^Now there were at Antioch, in the church

that was there, prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, and Simeon who was called
Niger, and Lucius ofCyrene, and Manaen
who had been brought up with Herod the
tetrarch, and Saul [Five men are named.]
^And while they were ministering to the
Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said.

21
 Fasting

''Set apart for Me Barnabas and

Saul for
the work to which I have called them."
^Then, when they had fasted and prayed
and laid their hands on them, they sent
them away.
^So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they
went down to Seleucia and from there they
sailed to Cyprus. (Acts 13:1-4 NAS)

The leaders of the church were minis-

tering to the Lord and fasting together. In
the course of their fasting, they received a
revelation from the Holy Spirit that two of
their number were to be sent out for a
special apostolic ministry. Receiving this
revelation, they did not send them out
immediately, but they again pasted and
prayed and laid their hands on them...''
Then it says of those two men that they
were sent out ""hy the Holy Spirif

Again we see that fasting transfers us

from the natural to the supernatural.
When the church leaders moved out of the
natural realm through fasting, they had a
supernatural revelation and supernatural

22
 New Testament Examples

authorization, and the Holy Spirit Himself

accepted responsibility for what they did.
But the way to this was opened up through
their collective fasting.

After Paul and Barnabas had gone out

on this ministry, we read what they did
when they established their new
converts
in various cities into proper churches:

^^And when they had appointed elders for

them in every church, having prayed with
fasting, they commended them to the Lord
in whom they had believed.
(Acts 14:23 NAS)

Fasting was not just a single, unusual

occurrence. It was practiced regularly by
the apostles and taught to their new
disciples.

The two main events in the spread of

the Gospel in the early church were, first,
the sending out of apostles and, second, the
establishing of new converts through the
appointment of elders. It is tremendously

23
 Fasting

significant that the early church did not do

either of these things without first fasting
and seeking God s supernatural direction
and help. In a certain sense, we can say
that the outgrowth and expansion of the
early church revolved around collective
fasting.

Finally, we want to read the testimony

and ministry, remem-
of Paul about his life
bering that Paul was one of the two men
involved in that incident. In 2 Corinthians
6:4-^, Paul says:

'. in everything commending ourselves as

. .

servants of God, in much endurance, in

afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
Hn beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults,
in labors, in sleeplessness [watchingL in
hunger [fasting],
Hn purity, in knowledge, in patience, in
kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine
love... (2 Corinthians 6:4-6 NAS)

Paul here describes veirious aspects of

his character and conduct which marked

24
 New Testament Examples

himself and his fellow-workers as true

servants of God. Among these were watch-
ing (staying awake when you could be
asleep) and fasting (abstaining from food
when you could be eating). Watching and
fasting are in very good company. They are
put side by side with purity, knowledge,
patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit and
genuine love. In other words, they are
presented as part of the total equipment of
a true servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I
believe that God still views them that way
today. God's provision and God's standards
are still the same as they were for Paul
and for the eeurly church.

25
 Chapter Three

How Fasting
Changes Us

hus far, we have seen that fasting is

voluntarily abstaining from food for spiritu-
al purposes. Fasting is a way that God
Himself has appointed for His people to
humble themselves before Him. Jesus
Himself practiced fasting and taught His
disciples to do the same. The New Testa-
ment church followed the example of their
Master. When Jesus spoke about fasting,
He did not say, ''if you fast,'' but ""when
you fasf He thus put fasting on precisely
the same level as giving to the needy and
praying.

27
 Fasting

We want to deal with the mechanics of

fasting now by seeing how fasting changes
the inner personality. The first thing we
need to see with absolute clarity from
Scripture is this: the power that makes
the Christian possible is the Holy
life
Spirit. No other power can enable us to
live the kind of life that God requires of us
as Christians. It cannot be done in our own
will or in our own strength. It can only be
done in dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the key to successful Christian
living is knowing how to release the power
of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we
can do the things we could not do in our
own strength.

Jesus made this clear to His disciples

after the resurrection, before He
ever re-
leased them to go out into ministry of their
own. In Acts 1:8, He said:

^"Butyou will receive power when the Holy

Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea

28
 How Fasting Changes Us

and Samaria, and to the ends of the

earth." (Acts 1:8 NIV)

He said, in effect, ''In order to do what

Fve charged you to do, you're going to need
power greater than your own. That power
will come from the Holy Spirit. Don't go
and begin to minister until that power of
the Holy Spirit has come to you."

Compare this with the words of Paul in

Ephesians where he is speaking primarily
about power in prayer:

^^Now to him [God] who isable to do

immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine, according to his power that is at
work within us... (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)

Paul says what God can do far exceeds

the highest that we could ever think or
imagine, but it depends on His power at
work in us. The extent of what God can do
through us does not depend on our think-
ing or imagining. It depends on His super-
natural power being released in us and

29
 Fasting

through us, whether it is in prayer, in

preaching or in any form of service. The
key is knowing how to release the power of
the Holy Spirit and become channels or
instruments through which He can work
without hindrance.

Seeing this, we can move to the next

key fact of Scripture. The old, carnal na-
ture opposes the Holy Spirit. The very
essence and character of the old nature is
such that it does not yield to the Holy
Spirit. It is in opposition to the Holy Spirit.
In the New Testament this carnal nature,
what we are by nature before we are trans-
formed by the new birth, is called ""the
flesh.'' This term does not simply mean the
physical body. It is the entire nature that
we inherited by descent from our first
father,Adam, who was a rebel. In other
words, lurking somewhere in every one of
us there is a rebel. That is the carnal
nature!

30
 How Fasting Changes Us

In Galatians 5:16-17, Paul says about

that carnal nature:

^^But I say, walk by the Spirit [the Holy

Spirit], and you will not carry out the
desire of the flesh.
[Each of us is dependent on the Holy
Spirit.]
^^For the flesh sets its desire against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for
these are in opposition to one another, so
that you may not do the things that you
please. (NAS)

That very clear and very important.

is
The carnal nature is in opposition to the
Spirit of God. If we yield to the carnal
nature, we are opposing the Spirit of God.
If we are going to yield to the Holy Spirit,
we must deal with the carnal nature, be-
cause as long as the carnal nature controls
and operates through us, what we do will
be in opposition to the Holy Spirit. This
applies not only to our physical desires, but
it also applies to what the Bible calls the

31
 FcLsting

carnal mind, which the way the old,

is
carnal, unregenerate nature thinks.

In a powerful verse in Romans, Paul

states a truth about the carnal mind:

7... the carnal mind is enmity against God:

for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:7 KJV)

These are strong words Paul is using.

He says the flesh opposes the Holy Spirit.
He says the fleshly mind is enmity against
God. It is not neutrality. There is no sug-
gestion that somehow the carnal nature
and the carnal mind can be persuaded to
do the will of God. It is impossible. The
carnal mind, by its very nature, is enmity
against God.

What is the carnal mind? I understand

it this way: it is the old, unregenerate soul
in its main functions. The functions of the
soul are usually defined as will, intelli-
gence and emotions. Each of them can be

32
 How Fasting Changes Us

summed up in a short, familiar, English

word. The will says, ''I want**; the intelli-
gence (or the mind) says, "*! think*"; the
emotions say, ''I feel." Natural, unregener-
ate man is dominated and controlled by
those three expressions of the ego: *"!
want," "I think," and "I feel." This is the
way the carnal nature operates.

If we are to come into submission to

the Holy Spirit, and if the Holy Spirit is to
operate through us with freedom, then the
carnal nature must be brought into subjec-
tion to the Holy Spirit. We must subject
the "I want," the "I think," and the "I feel"
to the Spirit of God. According to God s
pattern in Scripture, this is done by fast-
ing. That was how Jesus Himself did it,
that was how Paul did it, and that is how
you and I are expected to do it.

Here is Paul's own account of how he

. struggled with his carnal nature and how
I he gained victory over it. In 1 Corinthians
9:25-27, Paul describes this struggle in

33
 Fasting

terms of an athlete going into training for

victory in athletics:

Everyone who competes in the games [the

^^

Olympics] goes into strict training. They

do it to get a crown that will not last; but
we do it to get a crown that will last for-
ever.
^^Therefore Ido not run like a man run-
ning aimlessly; I do not fight like a man
beating the air.
[He is saying, Tm
a man with a goal; I'm
a man with a purpose. I'm a man under
discipline." And he sums it up this way:]
^^No, I beat my body and make it my slave
so that after I have preached to others, I
myself will not be disqualified for the
prize. (1 Corinthians 9:25-27 NIV)

Paul realized that he had to bring his

carnal nature into subjection if he was
going to succeed in his divine calling. This
leaves every one of us with a question:
Which is the master and which is the
servant in each of us? Is the body the
master and the Spirit just the slave? Or is
the Spirit the master and the body the

34
 How Fasting Changes Us

servant? I you this: your body

will tell
makes a wonderful servant, but a ter-
rible master.

I am reminded of the story of a friend

of mine, a lawyer in the Washington, D.C.,
area, who heard me preach on fasting once
and decided it was the
right thing to do.
He set aside a day to fast and he had a
miserable day. Every time he walked out
on the he seemed to find himself in
street,
front of a restaurant where the aroma of
cooking was tantalizing or pastries were
displayed in the window. He had a tremen-
dous inner struggle to abstain. So, at the
end of the day he gave his stomach a
^'talking-to.*' He said, ''Now, stomach.
YouVe been very rebellious today. You ve
made a lot of unnecessary trouble for me
and for that reason Fm going to punish
you. Tm going to fast tomorrow as well as
today.**

To me that is a tremendous lesson in

establishing who is the master and who is

35
 Fasting

the servant. Remember, your body is a

wonderful servant, but a terrible master. If
you are really going to succeed in the
Christian life and win the crown in the
''Christian athletics,** you are going to have
to establish the fact in your own experience
that your body does not dictate to you or
control you, and that you are not controlled
by its whims or appetites. Rather, you
must be controlled by a sense of God's
divine destiny and purpose for your life. In
that regard, you will do everything that is
needed to bring your body into subjection
so that it does not dictate to you or hinder
you in running your race. I believe one of
the basic scriptural ways to do this is by
the practice of regular fasting.

When you fast, you serve notice on your

body and your carnal nature: *Tou don't
control me. I'm not subject to you. You're
my servant. You'll obey what the Spirit of
God in me declares I have to do."

36
 Chapter Four

Fasting Can Change

History

w. have
e seen howfasting changes our
inner personalities according to certain
principles. First, we must recognize that
the power of the Christian the Holy
life is
Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only power
that will enable anyone to lead a truly
Christian life. Second, we must recognize
that the flesh, our carnal nature, opposes
the Holy Spirit. They are in direct opposi-
tion to one another. If the flesh prevails,
the Holy Spirit cannot have His way.
Third, fasting is God s appointed way to
bring the carnal nature into subjection. The
Holy Spirit is then free to enable us to do
what God desires us to do.

37
 Fasting

Personally, I no way to
believe there is
measure the power released by prayer and
fasting whenpracticed with right motives
and in accordance with the principles of
Scripture. The power thus released can
change not only individuals or families, but
cities, nations, or even entire civilizations.

I now want to share some examples

from the Bible of how fasting has affected
the destiny of cities, nations, and empires.
Our first examplefrom the book of Jo-
is
nah. God called Jonah, the Israelite proph-
et, to go to Nineveh, a Gentile city and the
capital of the Ass5nrian Empire. Jonah
refused to go and tried to run away from
God, but God dealt with him very severely.
What followed is recorded in the third
chapter of Jonah:

^Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah

a second time:
^"Go to the great city of Nineveh and pro-
claim to it the message I give you.''
^Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and

went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very

38
 Fasting Can Change History

important city a — visit required three days

[to go all through it].

^On the first day, Jonah started into the

city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and
Nineveh will be overturned."
(Jonah 3:1-4 NIV)

Jonah's very simple message was a

final warning of impending judgment on
the city. The response of the Ninevites was
remarkable:

^The Ninevites believed God. They declared

a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to
the least, put on sackcloth [the outward
evidence of mourning].
^When the news reached the king of
Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off
his royal robes, covered himself with sack-
cloth and sat down in the dust.
(Jonah 3:5-6 NIV)

Here is a picture of a whole city turn-

ing toGod in repentance, in fasting, and in
mourning. The proclamation that the king
issued was even more remarkable. It goes
like this:

39
 Fasting

^"By decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let any man or beast, herd
or flock, taste anything; do not let
them eat or drink.'
(Jonah 3:7 NIV)

That was a very total fast, not only for

the human population but for the livestock;
not only did they abstain from food, but
also from drinking. And then the proclama-
tion continues:

* ''But let man and beast be cov-

ered with sackcloth [again, the
outward emblem of mourning].
Let everyone call urgently on
God. Let them give up their evil
ways and their violence."
(Jonah 3:8 NIV)

This total response important. Fast-

is
ing is of no benefit if we continue doing the
wrong thing. But it is invaluable as a
spiritual help in turning from wrong to do
right.

40
 Fasting Can Change History

So, the Ninevites not only fasted and

covered themselves with sackcloth, they
made a proclamation to ""let them give up
their evil ways and their violence." From
other passages of Scripture we find that
the outstanding sin of Nineveh was vio-
lence. Then the proclamation closes this
way:

^ "Who knows? God may yet relent

and with compassion turn from
his fierce anger so that we will
not perish''
[Now here is the divine commentary on
this:]
^^When God saw what they did and how
they turned from their evil ways, he had
compassion and did not bring upon them
the destruction he had threatened.
(Jonah 3:9-10 NIV)

You will remember that John the Bap-

tistpreached a message of repentance.
When certain people came to ask for bap-
tism as evidence of repentance, he said, ""I
want to see the fruit of repentance in your

41
 Fasting

life. It's no good telling me you ve repented

if I can't see the results in the way you
act/ (See Matthew 3:7-8.)

In the case of the Ninevites, God saw

how they turned from their evil ways, so
He had compassion and did not bring upon
them the destruction He had threatened.

It is very interesting to see the historic

result.Nineveh was spared for almost two
hundred ye£irs before it was finally de-
stroyed. During that time in Israel, God
had various prophets, such as Amos and
Hosea, who brought the message of the
warning of judgment and the call to repen-
tance to Israel. Israel had the Scriptures,
they had the background of Moses and the
Law, and they had the prophets. Many
prophets went to the Israelites, but they
did not turn.

In contrast, Nineveh had no such back-

ground. One prophet went once, and the
whole city turned. That is remarkable! It is

42
 Fasting Can Change History

an interesting consequence that God spared

Nineveh and then used the Assyrian
Empire, of which Nineveh was the capital,
to bring His judgment on Israel!

God's judgment of Israel is a warning,

I believe, for Western nations where we

have a long background of Christian tradi-

tion, knowledge of the Scriptures and the
organized church. Could it be that God has
been speaking, but we have been as deaf as
the people of Israel? Could God send His
messengers to some nation with no Chris-
tian background so that it would turn to
Him, and then use that nation to be an
instrument of judgment? Could a nation
such as China bring judgment on unre-
pentant, professing Christian nations? Does
that message have an up-to-date applica-
tion for us?

For a second example of how history

was changed by the practice of fasting, we
will turn to the book of Esther. The Jewish
people were in exile in the Persian Empire,

43
 Fasting

which consisted of 127 provinces covering

the known ancient world from Egypt to
India, Practically every Jew in the world
was living at that time within the confines
of the Persian Empire.

A man named Haman had gained great

political position and power in the Persian
Empire. He persuaded the king to send
forth a universal decree for the destruction
of all theJewish people within the confines
of his empire on a certain day. This was
probably the nearest that anybody has ever
come to actually blotting out the Jewish
—
nation in a sense, even nearer than
Adolph Hitler in World War II. It was a
crisis such as Israel had never faced in all
their history. Their response to this crisis
was to turn to God with fasting and prayer.

In particular. Queen Esther (who was

Jewish though the king did not know her
racial background), set an example which
became a pattern for all subsequent gener-
ations of the power of prayer and fasting to

44
 Fasting Can Change History

bring intercession that changes

forth
history. This is the description in Esther
4:15-17:

^^Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:

^^"Go, gather together all the Jews who are
in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or
drink for three days, night or day. I and
my maids will fast as you do. When this is
done, I will go to the king even though it
is against the law. And if I perish, I per-
ish.''

^^So Mordecai went away and carried out

all of Esther's instructions. (NIV)

The Jewish people knew what to do. It

had been established in the ordinance of
the Day of Atonement. They knew the way
to humble themselves before God was to
fast. All the Jews in the capital city of
Susa, from Esther downwards, set aside
three days of prayer and fasting. What was
the result? In Esther 5:1-3, we read these
words:

^On the third day [of prayer and fasting]

Esther put on her royal robes and stood in

45
 Fasting

the inner court of the palace, in front of the

king's hall. The king was sitting on his
royal throne in the hall, facing the en-
trance.
^When he saw Queen Esther standing in
the court, he was pleased with her and
held out to her the gold scepter that was in
his hand. So Esther approached and
touched the tip of the scepter.
^Then the king asked, "What is it. Queen
Esther? What is your request? Even up to
half the kingdom, it will be given you."
(Esther 5:1-3 NIV)

Esther went in with her request and

changed the entire course of the history of
the Persian Empire. Instead of defeat and
shame, the situation became honor and
promotion for the Jewish people and for
their leaders, Mordecai and Esther. The
critical turning point was the three-day
period when Esther and all the Jews in
Susa fasted and sought God. Then their
destiny was changed. When Esther went in
to the king, he said, *What do you want? It
will be given to you up to half the king-
dom.** In other words, prayer and fasting

46
 Fasting Can Change History

opened the way for all that Esther could

possibly need on behalf of her people.

Esther is a beautiful pattern for us

today. God is looking for men and women
like Esther who realize the critical nature
of our situation and turn to God with their
fellow believers in prayer and fasting.
Prayer and fasting can still call forth di-
vine intervention on behalf of His people
and the critical situation in the world
today, just as much as it did in the days of
Esther. God is \n*gently speaking to His
people in these days about the need for
prayer and fasting.

47
 Chapter Five

Prelude to the Latter

Rain

We have seen the .easu^.ess power

that is released by prayer and fasting when
practiced with right motives and in accor-
dance with the principles of Scripture. The
power thus released can change not only
individuals and families, but whole cities,
nations and civilizations. Two historical,
biblical examples of this are the city of
Nineveh in the time of Jonah, and the
Jewish race in the Persian Empire in the
time of Esther. In each case, the course of
history was radically and permanently
changed when a group of people humbled
themselves before God by prayer and
fasting.

49
 Fasting

However, we should not look on this

kind of history-changing demonstration of
God's power as something confined to the
past. It is possible, by the same means of
prayer and fasting, for us to call forth an
intervention of God in history today as
powerful and dramatic as those recorded in
the Bible. This is both a desperate need
and a glorious possibility. In fact, I believe
that God is waiting for us to do this.

For an understanding of what God

expects from us this way, we turn to the
prophet Joel. Joel gives us a brief but
comprehensive overview of God s purposes
for His people in these last days. Joel
opens with a scene of total disaster and
desolation. Joel 1:8-12 gives a picture of a
desperate and hopeless situation:

* Wail like a virgin girded with

sackcloth
For the bridegroom of her youth.
^ The grain offering and the liba-
tion are cut off
From the house of the LORD.

50
 Prelude to the Latter Rain

The priests mourn.

The ministers of the LORD.
10
The field is ruined,
The land mourns,
For the grain is ruined.
The new wine dries up.
Fresh oil fails.
11
Be ashamed, O farmers.
Wail, O vinedressers.
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field is
destroyed.
12
The vine dries up.
And the fig tree fails;
The pomegranate, the palm also,
and the apple tree.
All the trees of the field dry up.
Indeed, rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men.
(Joel 1:8-12 NAS)

The situation is one of desolation,

blight, hopelessness, mourning and a total
absence of joy. But God then reveals His
appointed remedy through the same proph-
\ et in the verses that follow. In Joel
1:13-14, God instructs His people:

51
 Fasting

^^
Gird yourselves with sackcloth.
And lament, O priests;
Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sack-
cloth,
O ministers of my God,
For the grain offering and the
libation
Are withheld from the house of
your God.
^^
Consecrate a fast.
Proclaim a solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the
land
To the house of the LORD your
God,
And cry out to the LORD.
(Joel 1:13-14 NAS)

God s remedy is to consecrate a fast

and then seek God with desperate prayer.
""Consecrate" here means to set apart a
time for God when you will fast.

God repeats these instructions in Joel

2:12:

52
 Prelude to the Latter Rain

^^
'Yet even now/ declares the
Lord,
"Return to Me with all your
heart,
And with fasting, weeping, and
mourning.'' (Joel 2:12 NAS)

Again, the basic requirement is fasting.

A little further on in Joel, we read:

^^
Blow a trumpet in Zion,
[a public proclamation to all God's people]
Consecrate a fast, proclaim a
solemn assembly,
^^
Gather the people, sanctify the
congregation.
Assemble the elders.
Gather the children and the
nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out of
his room
And the bride out of her bridal
chamber.
[Allpeople are to give themselves to seek-
ing God without reservation. All normal
daily occupations are temporarily set
aside.]
^^
Let the priests, the Lord's
ministers.

53
 Fdsting

Weep between the porch and the

altar,
And let them say, "Spare Thy
people, O Lord,
And do not make Thine inheri-
tance a reproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the
peoples say,
"
"Where is their God?'
(Joel 2:15-17 NAS)

Here is God's promised response to the

prayer and fasting of His people:

23
'So rejoice, O
sons of Zion,
And be glad in the LORD your
God;
For He has given you the early
rain for your vindication.
And He has poured down for you
the rain.
The early and latter rain as
before.
24
And the threshing floors will be
full of grain.
And the vats will overflow with
the new wine and oil.

54
 Prelude to the Latter Rain

25
Then I will make up to you for
the years
That the swarming locust has
eaten.
The creeping locust, the stripping
locust, and the gnawing
locust.
My greatarmy which I sent
among you.
26
And you shall have plenty to eat
andbe satisfied.
And praise the name of the LORD
your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with
you;
Then My people will never be put
to shame.
27
Thus you will know that I am in
the midst of Israel,
And that I am the LORD your
God
And there is no other;
And My people will never be put
to shame.
28
And it come about after this
will
That I will pour out My Spirit on
all mankind;
And your sons and daughters
will prophesy.

55
 Fasting

Your old men will dream

dreams.
Your young men will see visions.
^^
And even on the male and female
servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those
days."
(Joel 2:23-29 NAS)

In response to prayer and fasting by

His people, God says, **! will come to your
help. I will change the whole situation,
take away the dearth and the blight, and
supply all your needs. There will be an
abundance, an overflow, and no longer will
you be a reproach among the nations. You
will be able to lift up your heads, and other
peoples will say, 'Look what God has done
"
for them.'

In particular, God promises that He

will send His people the desperately need-
ed former and latter rain. He then says, in
a spiritual application of the rain, *7 will

pour out My Spirit on all mankind.

""

56
 Prelude to the Latter Rain

In the New Testament we read the

words of the apostle Peter to the crowd
that had assembled on the Day of Pente-
cost, after the Holy Spirit had come:

""But this is what was spoken of through

the prophet Joel [Peter links this to the
prophecy of Joel cited above]:

''
'And it shall be in the last
DAYS,' God says,
'That I will pour forth of My
Spirit upon all mankind;
And your sons and your daugh-
ters SHALL PROPHESY,
And your young men shall see
visions.
And your old men shall dream
dreams;
" Even upon My bondslaves,
both men and women,
i will in those days pour forth
OF My Spirit
And they shall prophesy/ '
(Acts 2:16-18 NAS)

Grod has prepared a worldwide outpour-

ing of His Holy Spirit upon His church for

57
 Fasting

these last days. It is God's answer to the

desperate needs and pressures of this time.
It is His answer for the satanic, ungodly
forces that are coming against His people
from so many areas, and to the blight and
dearth in the church of God. God does not
intend to leave His people helpless or at
the mercy of all these evil pressures and
forces. God has a provision. He has prom-
ised to pour out His Spirit and help His
people on a supernatural level. However,
He requires the condition be met that we
seek Him with prayer and fasting, in a
united and collective way.

Notice the promise in Joel 2:28: ""It will

come about after this that I will pour out
My Spirit on all mankind....'' After what?
After we have met God's stated conditions.
We are to consecrate a fast, call a solemn
assembly, seek God, and come together
with prayer and fasting. Then He says He
willbe faithful to His commitment to us.
God says that He will come to you in the
power and fullness of the Holy Spirit to

58
 Prelude to the Latter Rain

change the whole situation. Instead of

being fearful and defeated, you will become
strong and effective. Instead of sneering at
you, the world will stand back in awe and
amazement when it sees how God has come
to the help of His people.

In calling God's people to prayer and

fasting, the message of Joel places a special
responsibility upon the spiritual leaders of
His people. Three classes of persons are
singled out more than once for special
mention. They are the priests, the minis-
ters, and the elders. For instance, in Joel
1:13-14, we find: ''Gird yourselves with
sackcloth, and lament, O priests; Wail, O
ministers of the altar!... Proclaim a solemn
assembly; gather the elders... Here the
'^

emphasis is on the priests, the ministers,

and the elders.

In Joel 2:16-17, God instructions are:

""Gather the people, sanctify the congrega-
tion,assemble the elders... Let the priests,
the Lord's ministers, weep between the

59
 Fasting

porch and the altar...'' There is a desperate

need for men of God in leadership who, by
example, will show God s people this pat-
tern of collective prayer and fasting to seek
God's intervention on behalf of His people.

This applies to the nation in which we

live. We need to see again the truth of that
familiar verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

^^"...if my people, who are called by my

name, will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin and will heal
their land.' (NIV)

I believe that is a message for us in

these days. God is telling us once again He

will intervene on a nationwide scale. He
will not only show Himself strong on behalf
of individuals and families, but on behalf of
cities, communities, regions, and whole
nations.

'

60

p
 Prelude to the Latter Rain

The kind of intervention God speaks

about in 2 Chronicles 7:14 requires His
people to meet His conditions. The first
condition is, ^ . . if My people.
will humble . .

themselves. " We have seen in the course of

our study that this means collective, united
fasting and praying. From the Day of
Atonement on, this has been the appointed
way for God's people to humble themselves
before Him, and God s ordinance has not
changed. He is waiting for leaders who, in
humility, will lead God's people in united
prayer and fasting. Then He promises to
hear, to forgive, and to heal the land.

61

i.
 .

^ -^
'
>-^
;:!ii

"But when you fast . .

your Father . . . will reward you.

— Watt 6:17-18
f
J Rere is NO wAy to measure tRe
TREMENdoUS pOWER ReLeASEcI
by pRAyER ANd pAsriNq whEN pRAcricEd wirh
RiqhT MOTivEs ANd In ACcoRdANCE wirh tIie

1
pRINCiplES of ScRipTURE.
'
^^DereU PrInce

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Derek Prince is internationally recognized
as one of the world^s leading Bible
teachers. He has published more than 30
booksy which have been translated into 50
foreign languages, and his daily radio
broadcast, 'Today With Derek Prince/'
I^ reaches half the globe.

ISBN 0-88368-258-3

'^fA/^i^i'^^f^ae
780883"682586